For years, Exodus
International has been one of the country’s most prominent “ex-gay”
Christian groups, promoting the widely discredited practice of attempting to
alter a person’s sexual orientation through prayer or counseling.

On January 6, however, during a
panel discussion at the Gay Christian Network’s annual conference in
Orlando, Florida, Exodus President Alan Chambers confessed
that the overwhelming majority of those who had undergone “ex-gay” therapy had
not changed their sexual orientation:

CHAMBERS:
The majority of people that I have met, and I would say the majority meaning
99.9percent of them, have not experienced a change in their
orientation or have gotten to a place where they could say that they
could never be tempted or are not tempted in some way or experience some
level of same-sex attraction. I think that there is a gender issue there. There
are some women who have challenged me and said, “Well that - my orientation or my attractions have changed
completely.” Those have been few and far between. The vast majority of people
that I know do still experience some level of same-sex attraction.

According to Jim Burroway at Box
Turtle Bulletin, Chambers’ comments are just the latest in what appears to be a
significant
shift in Exodus International’s messaging strategy:

Last
November, there were reports that Chambers was considering a modification of
their message. At that time, I noted that Exodus has flirted with the idea
of retooling its message before. The main message from Exodus has centered on
changing from homosexuality to heterosexuality (however loosely defined that
change may be). But there has been an underlying theme “the opposite of
homosexuality isn’t heterosexuality, it’s holiness,” which leaves open the idea
that becoming straight isn’t the goal. Chambers has been giving variations on
that theme since
at least 2007. He surprised supporters and critics alike in 2009 when he told the Los
Angeles Times, “By no means would we ever say change can be sudden or
complete.” It’s unclear whether this is a further tweaking of that theme or if
it represents a marked change in message for the organization.